Starbucks, gay marriage and the Christian

Marriage is created and defined by God, not man.
The title of this article sounds like the beginning of a bad  joke doesn't it?

Well, it's not. It's a very real and serious topic these days, especially since the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), enacted on September 21, 1996, is on trial, and may possibly be voted into extinction by our government.

While this topic has brewed to the brim from the overflow of deep passions in the hearts of believers and unbelievers, talks about boycotting Starbucks Coffee Company has traveled around the dizzying social media carousel.

You've probably seen the marriage equality profile photos and the "Dump Starbucks" memes on Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, just as I have. You've also probably read all the Christian news articles encouraging other Christians to take a stand for marriage as God has defined it by boycotting Starbucks and encouraging others to do the same.

To be "Christian" is to have repented of your sins and by faith trusted in Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, made into a new creation, for the purpose God the Father established beforehand (Eph 2:10, Rom 8:29).

Being Christian, is to be like Christ (Rom 8:29, Gal 2:20), to love what He loves and hate what He hates and define things as He defines it.
"In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made."
~John 1:1-3
Because we understand that Christ is the Word of God as the second Person of the Trinity, as His disciples, we all agree and understand the LORD alone created marriage, therefore He alone has the right and authority to define it.
"So GOD created man in HIS own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."
~Gen 1:27
Everything our Creator God made, whether plant-life, animals or human beings, He made them all with the ability and purpose to pro-create. The union of man to man and woman to woman negates that purpose and defies the good and perfect will of God.
"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."
~Romans 1:24-27
So what's a Christian to do? How does a Christian stand firmly in the precepts God Almighty has  established and function in this world? Rather than indulge any further in the vicious and futile cycle of human opinion swapping, let's go directly to God's word and see what our Lord says about this.
"I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. 'Purge the evil person from among you.'"
~1 Cor 5:9-13
In the above passage God states that for Christians to completely abstain from any association with those who practice or support acts that violate His holy commands, a Christian would have to leave this world.

Understand and remember we live in a fallen and sin-filled world full of lost people, surrounded by those who not only indulge in these sins, but support it due to their depraved and darkened minds (Rom 1:21).

Unlike us, the unbelieving world has not been set free by the blood of Christ; their consciences have not been cleansed. Therefore, they are unable to see or understand the truth we do. They are still slaves to sin, but we are slaves to righteousness.

I personally don't plan on purchasing Starbucks coffee. But that's my conviction after much prayer and consideration of all that is happening in our time. How long will I do this? I don't know. I'll leave that up to the Lord. Having said that, I don't judge, nor should I judge another brother or sister in Christ who is not convinced in their own heart to do the same (Rom 12:3, 14:22-23, 15:1-3). I'm no one's Holy Spirit and neither are you.

Let me put it to you plainly. If you decide, as a Christian, that you must boycott every institution that violates God's holy commands and precepts, then you will have to:
  • stop shopping at Target, Kohl's and most grocery stores;
  • stop driving cars, using your phones, computers, tablets and such;
  • boycott Staples, Walmart, and Sam's Club;
  • stop using any public transportation or paved roads, and so much more, because the people who own or run these companies all support some principle that violates our holy God's precepts and they employ people who do the same.
Christ said He left us to live in this world as salt and light, and reminded us that we're not of the world to exhort us to abstain from our personal practice of such evils, not so we could force and boycott the world's institutions to obey God.

As Christians, we know that the world will not cease in practicing or condoning immoral behavior unless they are saved by the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No boycott or any other means of social reform will change the hearts of wicked men and women.

So, stand firmly for the faith you professed in Christ; die to self, uphold God's holy principles in your personal living, exhort other saints to do the same, abstain from evil, cling to what is good, fight the good fight of faith, uphold sound doctrine, and function in this world as an ambassador of Christ; holding fast to the word, shining like stars in a dark and depraved world (Philippians 2:14-17).

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